Universal expandable cable management bracket

ABSTRACT

A cable management bracket that routes cables in a cabinet or rack. The cable management bracket includes an inner mounting rail and an outer mounting rail. The outer mounting rail is secured to the inner mounting rail by fasteners. The inner mounting rail has a top flange, first and second end flanges, a bottom flange, and a side surface. The outer mounting rail has a top flange, an end flange, a bottom flange, and a side surface. The side surfaces of the inner mounting rail and the outer mounting rail have a plurality of mounting features for securing bundling clips that receive a plurality of cables.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/441,734, filed Jun. 14, 2019, which issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,606,011, on Mar. 31, 2020, and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/687,437, filed Jun. 20, 2018, the subject matter ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cable management bracket, and moreparticularly to a universal expandable cable management bracket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to secure cables inside cabinets or racks by variousmethods. Brackets holding cabling are mounted to the rear fixed rail of4-post racks or the moveable vertical rail (i.e., equipment rail) of acabinet. The brackets are typically used for improved management offiber cabling and to secure the weight of the cables.

Unfortunately, the rear movable vertical rails or equipment rails in acabinet are positioned at various locations in the cabinet. The rearfixed vertical rails of a 4-post rack can have multiple depths. Sincethe rear mounting rails in 4-post rack or cabinet are so variable, itmay not be possible to secure the cable brackets in a position that isconducive for optimal cable management or to support the cable weight toreduce stress on the fibers.

Cable management plates are known to support fibers along the rear ofthe enclosure. However, if multiple 1 RU enclosures are stacked on topof each other, the size and surface area of the cable management platecan make it difficult to reach into the rear of an enclosure to accesscassettes or cabling.

Additionally, cable transitions secured to enclosures may induceundesirable forces across the rear of the enclosure that may deflect theenclosure downward, may use up critical space at the rear of theenclosure in high density applications, and can make it difficult toroute a rigid cable within the limited space behind an enclosure.

Thus, it would be desirable to provide a solution that enables clips orbrackets to be mounted at any location inside cabinets or a 4-post rackfor cable management.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cable management bracket has been designed to route cables in acabinet or rack. The cable management bracket includes an inner mountingrail and an outer mounting rail adjustably secured to the inner mountingrail. The inner mounting rail has a top flange, first and second endflanges, a bottom flange, and a side surface. The outer mounting railhas a top flange, an end flange, a bottom flange, and a side surface.The side surface of the inner mounting rail has a plurality of mountingfeatures for securing bundling clips that receive a plurality of cables.The side surface of the outer mounting rail also has a plurality ofmounting features to secure bundling clips that receive a plurality ofcables.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cable management bracket of thepresent invention in an expanded position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inner mounting rail of the cablemanagement bracket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a left perspective view of the outer mounting rail of thecable management bracket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a right perspective view of the outer mounting rail of thecable management bracket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of cable management brackets of FIG. 1 anda cable strain relief bracket.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cable transition and cable transitionbracket.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a 12-position cable transition bracketof FIG. 6.

FIG. 7B is a perspective view of an 18-position cable transitionbracket.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the cable management bracket of FIG. 1with a plurality of cable transition brackets secured thereto.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the cable management bracket of FIG. 8with a plurality of cable transition brackets populated with cablessecured thereto.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cable management bracket of FIG. 9secured in a 4-post rack.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the cable management bracket of FIG. 1with a plurality of hook and loop ties and cable management clipssecured thereto.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the cable management bracket of FIG. 5secured to a 4-post rack.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a plurality of cable managementbrackets of FIG. 5 secured to a 4-post rack.

FIG. 14A is a top view of cables routed to the sides and secured to astrain relief bracket at a rear.

FIG. 14B is a top view of cables routed to one side and secured to astrain relief bracket at a rear.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the inner mounting rail of FIG. 2secured in a rack.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an alternative cantilevered embodimentof the mounting rail of FIG. 2 secured to a 2-post rack.

FIG. 17 is an alternative embodiment of the cable management bracket ofFIG. 1 with wider mounting rails.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cable management bracket of thepresent invention. The cable management bracket 20 is comprised of asingle front or inner mounting rail 30 and a single rear or outermounting rail 70 secured to one another with fasteners 90. The mountingrails can be secured to a cabinet or rack utilizing industry standarddesign requirements per the CEA-310-E. The overall length of the cablemanagement bracket is adjustable to accommodate various cabinet and rackconfigurations.

FIG. 2 illustrates the inner mounting rail 30. The inner mounting rail30 is designed to be a maximum 1RU height (1.75 inches). The innermounting rail 30 includes end flanges 32, 34, a top flange 40, a bottomflange 46 and a side surface 52. The top flange 40 includes holes 42 andslits 44 and the bottom flange 46 includes holes 48 and slits 50. Theinner mounting rail 30 contains a plurality of mounting features 54along the side surface 52 to secure various bundling clips or cablemanagement clips. The mounting features 54 are arranged in groupsincluding several holes 56 and slots 58. Each mounting feature 54 isdesigned to secure 12-transition bundling clips, 18-transition bundlingclips, wide hook and loop cable ties, or cable harness clips. The innermounting rail 30 also includes a plurality of slits 60 on the sidesurface 52 for enabling hook and loop ties to be attached the top andbottom flanges 40, 46, respectively. The slits 60 enable the outermounting rail 70 to be secured via one or multiple #10-32 screws ornuts. The side surface 52 also includes mounting slots 62 for mountingthe inner mounting rail 30 across a 1 RU space.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the inner mounting rail 30 is a symmetricaldesign that contains two different mounting configurations. One endflange 32 contains two #12-24 threaded holes 36, while the opposite endflange 34 contains two M6 threaded holes 38. The inner mounting rail 30can be flipped to expose the desired threaded mounting holes requiredfor mounting to the rack or cabinet.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the outer mounting rail 70. The outer mountingrail 70 includes a C-shaped cross section to slide over the innermounting rail 30. The outer mounting rail 70 telescopes along the innermounting rail 30 to provide a varied, adjustable length cable managementbracket. The outer mounting rail 70 includes one end flange 72, a topflange 76, a bottom flange 80 and a side surface 84. As illustrated inFIG. 4, the end flange 72 includes two clearance holes 74. Fasteners(i.e. #12-24 or M6 screws) are secured through the clearance holes 74for mounting the outer rail 70 to the moveable, rear vertical equipmentrail from a cabinet or the rear vertical rails of a 4-post rack.

The top flange 76 includes a plurality of 0.25-inch diameter holes 78for cable management clips. The side surface 84 includes a plurality ofslits 86 to providing an opening for hook and loop ties to be attachedacross the top and bottom flanges 76, 80, respectively. The slits 86also enable one or multiple #10-32 screws or nuts to secure the outermounting rail 70 to the inner mounting rail 30. The side surfaces 84also include a plurality of mounting features 88 along the side surface84 to secure various bundling clips or cable management clips. Themounting features 88 are arranged in groups including several holes 90and slots 92. The mounting feature group 88 is designed to secure12-transition bundling clips, 18-transition bundling clips, wide hookand loop ties, or cable harness clips. The side surface also includesindustry standard 1RU mounting slots for mounting the outer mountingrail across a 1 RU space.

FIG. 5 illustrates two expandable cable management brackets 20 and astrain relief bracket 100 positioned between the cable managementbrackets 20. The strain relief bracket 100 includes ends 102, 104, a top110, a bottom 116, and sides 118. The ends 102, 104 include rivets 106,108, or other fastener, to secure the strain relief bracket 100 to thecable management brackets 20. The top 110 of the strain relief bracketincludes slots 112 and mounting holes 114. The slots 112 receive hookand loop ties to enable installed cables to be routed from the sides ofthe enclosures. The mounting holes 114 receive mounting clips. The sides118 of the strain relief bracket 100 include radiused spillways 120 forthe bend radius control of the installed cables.

The left and right cable management brackets are designed to mount to arack or cabinet as described above. The cable strain relief bracketmounts to the left and right cable management brackets via rivets or aplunger and grommet fasteners. The cable strain relief bracket can bemounted along the plurality of round holes found on the inner and outermounting rails. This configuration allows for maximum cable managementflexibility behind a patch panel or enclosure.

The CEA-310-E specification establishes the guidelines for rack andcabinet mounting of equipment in the RU space. The standard specifiesrack and cabinet width and depth, as well as the minimum clearancesbetween mounting flanges.

The left and right cable management brackets are secured to a cabinet ora 4-post rack having a preferred width of 19 inches across the outsideof the rail assemblies. This distance ensures that the cable managementbrackets illustrated in FIG. 5 fit inside industry standard cabinets andracks as the minimum dimension of the cabinet or rack opening perCEA-310-E is 19.031 inches. The preferred width across the inside of thecable management brackets is 17.75 inches. This distance ensures thatthe cable management brackets can be secured to a rack or cabinet whenenclosures, patch panels, or other equipment are installed across the RUspace.

Since the brackets telescope relative to one another, the lengths of themounting rails forming the cable management bracket are a minimum of19.38 inches to a maximum of 37.75 inches. This variable length providescompatibility with all rack and cabinet depths up to 800 mm deep.

As discussed above, the inner and outer mounting rails 30, 70 containgroup mounting features 54, 88, respectively, to mount varioushigh-density fiber enclosure (HDFE) fiber trunk cable bundling clips.FIGS. 6, 7A, and 7B illustrate various fiber trunk cable bundling clips.The molded HDFE cable transitions 130 from the HDFE fiber optic cablessnap into the cable transition bundling clips 140, 144. A total oftwelve cable transitions fit into the 12-position bundling clip 140(FIG. 7A) and eighteen cable transitions fit into the eighteen-positionbundling clip 144 (FIG. 7B). Two plunger and grommet fasteners 142, 146,snap into holes in the bundling clips 140, 144, respectively, to attachthe bundling clips to the inner and outer mounting rails 30, 70 (seeFIG. 8). The transition bundling clips secured to the inner and outermounting rails 30, 70 reduces physical stresses in the cable fibers bysupporting the weight of the cables.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, an array of transition bundling clips140 can be secured to the inner and outer mounting rails 30, 70. FIG. 9illustrates the bundling clips 140 supporting a plurality of HDFE fiberoptic cables 135. Each HDFE fiber optic cable can contain twelve,twenty-four, thirty-six, or forty-eight fibers. As illustrated in FIG.9, the maximum quantity of 12-position bundling clips 140 is installedin the cable management bracket 20. There is a total of 168 transitionssecured to the inner and outer rails via the bundling clips. If18-position bundling clips were used instead, a maximum of 252transitions can be secured.

FIG. 10 illustrates two cable management brackets 20 with bundling clips140 installed in a 4-post 30-inch deep rack 160. One cable managementbracket 20 is secured to the left side of the rack 160 and one cablemanagement bracket 20 is secured to the right side of the rack 160.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, a total of 14 12-position bundling clips 140mounted along the left cable management bracket 20. Each 12-positionbundling clip 140 holds a total of 168 transitions with each transitionholding a total of 48 fibers. As a result, a total of 8,064 fibers areheld in the bundling clips 140. Since there are two populated cablemanagement brackets 20 secured to the 4-post rack 160, there would be atotal of 336 transitions and 16,128 fibers in a single rack unit (1RU).If the 18-position bundling clips 144 were used instead, that therewould be a total of 252 transitions per side, amounting to a total of12,096 fibers. Therefore, with two populated cable management brackets20 there would be a total of 504 transitions and 24,192 fibers managedin a single rack unit (1 RU).

The cable transition 130 must be secured into a bundling clip 140 at alocation in the rack or cabinet that allows the trunk cable to beproperly routed or managed. The cable transition must also be secured ata location that allows the connector ends of the trunk cable to properlymate into a fiber optic adapter which may be found in a fiber opticmodule or cassette or fiber adapter panel. The typical breakout lengthfrom a cable transition to the connector end of a trunk cable istypically 39 inches. For the full capacity of fibers to be properlyrouted to patch panels or enclosures, trunk cable with varied breakoutlengths could be used, if desired.

FIG. 11 illustrates the cable management bracket of the presentinvention with hook and loop ties 180 and cable management clips 182.Cables can be secured to the top of the inner or outer mounting rails30, 70 with a 0.75-inch-wide hook and loop ties 180. The hook and loopties 180 are mounted through the slits 60, 86 in the mounting rails 30,70. The inner and outer mounting rails 30, 70 may also receive cablemanagement clips 182.

FIG. 12 illustrates cable management brackets 20 and a strain reliefbracket 100 installed in a 4-post, 30-inch rack 160. The cablemanagement bracket 20 provides an open chassis solution at the rear ofthe enclosure for easier access to cabling. Since the cable managementbracket 20 is expandable, the outer rails 70 can be secured to the innerrails 30 in various configurations to provide multiple overall lengths.Due to the adjustable length, the cable management bracket 20 can beused with various 4-post rack configuration depths, such as 23-inches,30-inches, and 36 inches.

FIG. 13 illustrates multiple cable management brackets 20 and strainrelief brackets 100 secured to a 4-post rack 160 adjacent to an HDFE 1RU enclosure and a HDFE 4 RU enclosure. The enclosures are compatiblebecause the cable management brackets 20 do not encroach the CEAindustry-standard 1 RU mounting space. As discussed above, the strainrelief bracket 100 mounts to the left and right cable managementbrackets 20 by utilizing a plunger and grommet fasteners in theplurality of holes 42, 78 in the inner and outer mounting rails 30, 70,respectively. The strain relief bracket 100 secured to the cablemanagement brackets 20 support cabling at the rear of the enclosure.

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate routing of cables 135 along the strainrelief bracket 100 at the rear of the enclosure. Hook and loop ties 180are used to secure the trunk cables to the cable strain relief bracket100. A slack loop is created for all incoming trunk cables, asillustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B. The slack loop is required to allowmovement of the trays from the front of the enclosure. For split routingof cables (FIG. 14A), a minimum of 28 inches of slack is required fromthe rear of the installed enclosure cassette or fiber adapter panels tothe tie down points. When routing cables all to one side (FIG. 14B), aminimum of 32 inches of slack is required from the far side of theenclosure to the tie down point.

FIG. 15 illustrates another embodiment using the inner mounting rail 30of the present invention. The inner mounting rail 30 is secured to arack or cabinet across the 1RU space. Two screws are installed into themounting slots across either side of the inner mounting rail and intothe threaded holes or cage nuts of a rack or cabinet. This embodiment isbeneficial when securing cables that enter from the top or bottom of arack or cabinet. Cables can be secured to the inner mounting rail 30with 0.75-inch-wide hook and loop ties through the slits 60 or cablemanagement clips positioned in the mounting holes 56.

FIG. 16 illustrates another embodiment using inner mounting rails 30 andthe strain relief bracket 100. Two inner mounting rails 30 are securedto a two-post rack 170. A strain relief bracket 100 is secured to theopposite end of the inner mounting rails 30 to create a cantileveredembodiment.

The width of the inner mounting rail 30 and the outer mounting rail 70of the cable management bracket 20 was designed to fit within a 19-inchcabinet or rack width configuration. The cable management bracket 20 hasa low 1 RU height profile, allowing greater access to components in theinternal rack or cabinet space. It is also desirable to provide widerinner and outer rails. FIG. 17 illustrates a wider cable managementbracket 20 a. The outer mounting rails 70 a includes mounting groups 88a along the top and bottom flanges 76 a, 80 a to support additionalbundling clips. Only a single 12-position bundling clip 140 isillustrated in FIG. 17, however, a plurality of the bundling clips canbe secured across the top and bottom flanges 76 a, 80 a, as desired.

The cable management bracket of the present invention is compatible withall industry standard cabinets and four post racks. The cable managementbrackets and the strain relief bracket are manufactured from steel andare power coated with a slight texture. The cable management bracketsand strain relief bracket contain various mounting holes of variousdiameters for use with many cable management accessories.

The cable management bracket is a low-cost embodiment that can beutilized when it is necessary to guide fiber optic or copper cablingalong the outer sides of a cabinet or rack and it is not necessary toroute the cables from the rear of an enclosure or patch panel.

Furthermore, while the preferred embodiments of the present inventionhave been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled inthe art that changes, and modifications may be made without departingfrom the teaching of the invention. The matter set forth in theforegoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way ofillustration only and not as limitation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A cable management bracket for routingcables, the cable management bracket comprising: an inner mounting railhaving a top flange, at least one end flange, a bottom flange, and aside surface; an outer mounting rail secured to the inner mounting railby fasteners, the outer mounting rail having a top flange, an endflange, a bottom flange, and a side surface; wherein the top flange ofthe inner mounting rail having holes and slits and the bottom flange ofthe inner mounting rail having holes and slits; and wherein the sidesurface of the inner mounting rail having a plurality of mountingfeatures for securing devices that receive a plurality of cables and theside surface of the outer mounting rail having a plurality of mountingfeatures to secure devices that receive a plurality of cables.
 2. Thecable management bracket of claim 1, wherein the mounting features ofthe inner mounting rail are arranged in groups including a plurality ofslots and a plurality of holes, the slots extend between the top flangeand the bottom flange of the inner mounting rail.
 3. The cablemanagement bracket of claim 1, wherein the side surface of the innermounting rail having a plurality of slits for enabling hook and loopties to be attached to the top and bottom flanges of the inner mountingrail.
 4. The cable management bracket of claim 1, wherein the sidesurface of the outer mounting rail having a plurality of slits.
 5. Thecable management bracket of claim 1, wherein the mounting features ofthe outer mounting rail are arranged in groups including a plurality ofslots and a plurality of holes, the slots extend between the top flangeand the bottom flange of the outer mounting rail.
 6. The cablemanagement bracket of claim 1, wherein the devices are at least one of abundling clip, a hook and loop tie, and a cable harness clip.
 7. A cablemanagement assembly for routing cables within a cabinet, the cablemanagement assembly comprising a first cable management bracket and asecond cable management bracket; wherein the first cable managementbracket has an inner mounting rail having a top flange, at least one endflange, a bottom flange, and a side surface; and an outer mounting railsecured to the inner mounting rail by fasteners, the outer mounting railhaving a top flange, an end flange, a bottom flange, and a side surface;wherein the second cable management bracket has an inner mounting railhaving a top flange, at least one end flange, a bottom flange, and aside surface; and an outer mounting rail secured to the inner mountingrail by fasteners, the outer mounting rail having a top flange, an endflange, a bottom flange, and a side surface; and wherein the first cablemanagement bracket is secured to a first side of the cabinet and thesecond cable management bracket is secured to a second side of thecabinet, wherein a strain relief bracket extends between the first cablemanagement bracket and the second cable management bracket.
 8. The cablemanagement assembly of claim 7, wherein the side surface of each innermounting rail of the first and second cable management brackets having aplurality of mounting features arranged in groups for securing devicesthat receive a plurality of cables and the side surface of each outermounting rail of the first and second cable management brackets having aplurality of mounting features arranged in groups to secure devices thatreceives a plurality of cables.
 9. The cable management assembly ofclaim 8, wherein the devices are at least one of a bundling clip, a hookand loop tie, and a cable harness clip.
 10. The cable managementassembly of claim 8, wherein the mounting features of each innermounting rail of the first and second cable management brackets includea plurality of slots and a plurality of holes, the slots extend betweenthe top flange and the bottom flange of the inner mounting rails; andwherein the mounting features of each outer mounting rail of the firstand second cable management brackets include a plurality of slots and aplurality of holes, the slots extend between the top flange and thebottom flange of the outer mounting rails.
 11. The cable managementassembly of claim 7, wherein the outer mounting rails of the first andsecond cable management brackets having a C-shaped cross section toslide over the inner mounting rails of the first and second cablemanagement brackets, wherein the outer mounting rails telescope alongthe inner mounting rails providing adjustable length cable managementbrackets.
 12. The cable management assembly of claim 7, wherein thestrain relief bracket having a first end, a second end, a top, a bottom,and sides with radiused spillways for bend radius control; and whereinthe first end of the strain relief bracket is secured to the outermounting rail of the first cable management bracket and the second endof the strain relief bracket is secured to the outer mounting rail ofthe second cable management bracket.
 13. The cable management assemblyof claim 7, wherein cables are routed along the inner mounting rails andthe outer mounting rails of the first and second cable managementbrackets.
 14. A cable management bracket for routing cables, the cablemanagement bracket comprising: an inner mounting rail having a topflange, at least one end flange, a bottom flange, and a side surface; anouter mounting rail secured to the inner mounting rail by fasteners, theouter mounting rail having a top flange, an end flange, a bottom flange,and a side surface, wherein the outer mounting rail having a C-shapedcross section to slide over the inner mounting rail, wherein the outermounting rail telescopes along the inner mounting rail providing anadjustable length cable management bracket; and wherein the side surfaceof the inner mounting rail having a plurality of mounting features forsecuring devices that receive a plurality of cables and the side surfaceof the outer mounting rail having a plurality of mounting features tosecure devices that receive a plurality of cables.
 15. A cablemanagement bracket for routing cables, the cable management bracketcomprising: an inner mounting rail having a top flange, at least one endflange, a bottom flange, and a side surface; an outer mounting railsecured to the inner mounting rail by fasteners, the outer mounting railhaving a top flange, an end flange, a bottom flange, and a side surface;wherein the top flange of the outer mounting rail having a plurality ofholes and the bottom flange of the outer mounting rail having aplurality of holes; and wherein the side surface of the inner mountingrail having a plurality of mounting features for securing devices thatreceive a plurality of cables and the side surface of the outer mountingrail having a plurality of mounting features to secure devices thatreceive a plurality of cables.